In today’s Barcelona, is there anyone left who doesn’t have an important memory associated with a kebab? Thousands of Barcelona nights have begun or ended with the world’s most famous Asian sandwich, and whether you call it durum, doner, kebab, durum kebab or shawarma, it’s hard for the mere mention of this sandwich not to make you, even slightly, activate your salivary glands.
The one that is, probably, the most popular snack in Barcelona plays in a league of its own, and finding the best kebab in town is a challenge that everyone thinks they have the key to, but one that we can never tire of playing and always finds new participants. If you’ve ever wondered, what’s the best kebab near me? This is your game.
And since we like to play too, we bring you a list of our own. It doesn’t matter how you prefer it: Syrian or Lebaneseshawarma, Turkish durum or doner style or, kebab, the Persian word that has made a fortune to define them all and means grilled meat. We do not make distinctions, in the game of the search for the best kebab in Barcelona there are no borders or ties, only delicious snacks to go out and look for in the city.
Silan, fine kebab
Born in the middle of the pandemic, Silan quickly became one of our favorite restaurants in the city. Their version of kebab is served half-assembled. A mixture of minced beef with spices, tahini and Lebanese yogurt that arrives in a bowl for you to assemble your own kebab.
The average ticket here beats the previous ones, but it’s worth every euro you pay. Their homemade breads or their pastrami sandwich are some of the other protagonists of this Middle Eastern bistro, as they define themselves, located in l’Eixample.
📍 Carrer de Enric Granados, 38
Bismillah Raval Kebabish, the real king of Raval
Bismillah can boast of preparing even the marinade for the meat they use to prepare the kebab. And when we say they cook everything, they even bake their own naan bread, in an authentic tandoor oven from which they bake round and fluffy breads like love, far from the flat and insipid tortillas of other less elaborated kebabs in the city, they lovingly collect the liquid that drips from the sandwich when it wraps around the marinated meat and mixes with the homemade sauces.
An authentic palace of durum where it is as good to eat a sandwich as to order the kebab on a plate (or curr) and accompany it with rice. A true king in the Raval that has earned its position as one of the best in the neighborhood (and the city), something that has even more merit if we consider that, even being open in the middle of Joaquin Costa, they do not sell alcohol.
📍 Carrer de Joaquim Costa, 22
The Cuiner of Damascus, the Syrian resistance in the Gothic Quarter
Salem, owner of this place in the Gòtic, not only prepares one of the best kebabs (or shawarmas) in Barcelona. Salem is also a public figure, an icon of the Barcelona hospitality industry at 76 years of age. So when the rumor spread that the Cuiner de Damasc was closing its doors, the news went viral and the clientele rushed to say goodbye.
Fortunately, it all turned out to be a scare and Salem continues to prepare his famous Syrian lamb and turkey shawarma from his humble, high-ceilinged shop with light Arabesque decor. His restaurant is an oasis in the tourist district, and if you’re lucky enough to be able to chat with him you’ll understand why he’s not ready to retire just yet.
📍 Carrer dels Templers, 2
Sannin, historical kebabs in Gràcia
The hands that prepare the delicacies that you are going to take to your mouth at Sannin are those of an authentic Lebanese and in addition, they have been cooking this Turkish delicacy for more than 22 years, so they know all its secrets. We like it in shawarma version and if we have room, we accompany it with its patties (spinach, meat or cheese).
In a neighborhood like Gracia, which in Verdi street accumulates a good handful of locals of this type, having a safe house like this to find quality kebabs is a real privilege.
📍 Carrer de Encarnació, 44
A tu bola, falafel and more
If you have never been and they recommend you to go and try their kebabs, from the outside you will think that they have given you the wrong address, because it does not look like the typical establishment of this type of food. They prepare signature kebabs, so in addition to the classic, you can choose more original versions such as smoked chicken with pineapple, bacon and lime and cilantro sauce.
Of course, on a ball site falafel is king. Their chickpea dumplings are served on a plate or in pita bread, but you can come here to innovate by ordering sweet potato, lentil, cheese or veal dumplings. A place designed also for foreigners looking for a street falafel but with a menu in English. Oh, by the way, they also prepare good brunches israeli style with shakshuka.
📍 Carrer de l’Hospital, 78
La Caravana al Kafela, kebab shelter in Gracia
Musta is the owner, the local cook and a piece of bread. He manages to make you feel at home and make you want to return, because of him, because of the delicious sauces on his kebab (which he marinates and rolls himself daily) and because of the price of it. Try to make room for their baklavas.
As a good Syrian restaurant, apart from kebab, its menu also offers mezes, kebe or kafta which have turned it into one of the most popular restaurants in the world an already iconic shelter in Gracia where to dine good, nice and cheap.
📍 Carrer de Mozart, 15
Mustá Shawarma, another shelter on Mozart Street
Mustá Shawarma is a few meters from La Caravana. Perhaps because the public in Gracia is young and partying, and looks for good and easy food to munch on before the long night. Perhaps because he is a bit older, but restless, not very rich, and he is looking for food from other latitudes that expands his horizons without hurting his pocket. But the truth is that in Gracia there are a lot of good foreign food places in general and Middle Eastern in particular, and the coexistence of Mustà next to La Caravana is a good example of this.
Mustá Shawarma is another Syrian restaurant that has refined its offer and its location, keeping prices and taste, but offering a pleasant space where eating a good kebab is not a take away experience, but a real dinner out. A nice place where the food lives up to the locale.
📍Carrer de Mozart, 4
Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap, the Berliner durum lands in Barcelona
A few months ago a piece of news shook the foundations of Barcelona’s gastronomic news: Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap opened a new location in the city. In front of its new space in Sants there were queues of people looking to find the delicious kebab that was born in Berlin and that appears in any gastronomic guide of the German capital advertised as a delicatessen. Because yes, Mustafa’s Gemuse Kebap is the most famous kebab in Berlin, and now it is also based in Barcelona.
To try it is to travel to the capital of Germany, where, according to some theories, the kebab as we know it originated. Mustafa’s kebab has a classic, rich taste, with hand-cut fries that add an extra kick. The branch has expanded, and there are now three locations with the same name in the city apart from the original one in Sants.
📍Creu Coberta, 15
Falafel Shel Shani, something tasty remains at La Boqueria
After the recent closure of Pinotxo and the touristification that the Boqueria market has been experiencing for years, it is difficult to face with hope the gastronomic offer of the market. But Falafel Shel Shani shows us that, although it is far from the cigrons or cap i pota of the traditional bars, in the Boqueria you can still find quality food.
In his case we leave the Turkish, Syrian or Pakistani kebabs to go to Israel, a country that has turned falafel into a national dish. Here they make vegan falafels that raise the level of their environment, with fresh and cheerful ingredients that turn a meal in the Boqueria into a pleasant and healthy drink.
📍 Stand number 133-134, La Boqueria food market in Barcelona.
Beirut-Barcelona, the name says it all
We left the center to go to Les Corts, to find one of those neighborhood restaurants that is nice to find outside the usual circuit. Its name says it all: Beirut-Barcelona has a half Lebanese, half Catalan menu. On one side there is shawarma, on the other fricassee.
The third section is fusion, and this is where the teak moves, because there are Lebanese-style bravas, pizza croquettes or hummus or a fusion Mutabal. All in a well-kept place with an offer that has seduced and has been serving quality food in Les Corts for some years now.
📍 Travessera de les Corts, 283
Xix Kebab, Syrian cuisine since 1983
Pioneers deserve recognition and, in a city full of mediocre durums, there are few like Xix-Kebab to vindicate the 50 years they have been preparing Syrian cuisine in Barcelona. Here the kebab skewers are made on site, with lamb, chicken or beef, and served in a place decorated with the aroma of an eighties home-style restaurant.
In addition, all the classic delicious creams: muhammara, baba ganoush, hummus or mutabal, all accompanied by warm pita bread to make the ultimate kebab. And for those who are more adventurous, several less common Syrian dishes to get out of the sota horse king of hummus and kebab. In short, a great Syrian food restaurant in the heart of the left Eixample.
📍C/ de Còrsega, 193, L’Eixample